


She Doesn't Have To Run

by Adaurora



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Gen, very light mentions of blood and wounds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-17
Updated: 2015-01-17
Packaged: 2018-03-07 21:31:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3183863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adaurora/pseuds/Adaurora
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She ran when she was afraid. Afraid of being disappointing, afraid of being the disappointment. Afraid of being alone again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	She Doesn't Have To Run

          Sometimes she felt that running was the only thing she was good at. Sure, it had it's useful applications  _sometimes_. Like chasing down someone she needed to catch or rushing into battle, covering a large amount of ground as she did.

          Usually, though, all it was useful for was running away and hiding. She ran when she was afraid. Afraid of being disappointing, afraid of being _the_ disappointment. Afraid of being alone again. 

          But no one would be able to understand, she tells herself. Even now, she continues to run further and further, swiftly avoiding trees and jumping over fallen logs despite the lack of light from the night sky.

          "Severa! Severa, please come back." She didn't think she would follow her, but hearing her mother's voice calling from behind her makes her want to stop, stop dead in her tracks and just turn around and run back to her, throwing herself into her arms. But her own stubborn pride keeps her going, energy surging through her legs as Severa continues to run further and further away.

          After a few more minutes of endless running, Severa making sure to take some sharp turns here and there for good measure, she ducks behind a tree when all her energy is spent and she sits. Bringing her knees up to her face, she raises her arms up to rest on them and lowers her head, curling up. If she was being honest with herself, she couldn't even remember why she was running in the first place. She probably didn't want to remember, either. She didn't want to face up to her mother, she didn't want to be a disappointment anymore, she didn't-

          "Severa."

          "M-mother!?" And at the sound of her voice, her head lifts upwards in shock, only to hit her head on the tree behind her, causing her to inhale sharply at the sudden contact.

          "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to startle you. Are you hurt?" Cordelia asks, lowering herself so she'd on her knees, raising a hand to check her daughter for an injury. Severa knocks the hand away with a little more force than intended.

          "I'm fine! Gods, mother, I'm not a little kid, you don't have to dote on me..." she says, looking away with a huff. Out of the corner of her eye, she can tell her mother feels conflicted.

          "Severa..." her mother starts again, resting a hand on her cheek. Severa opens her mouth to argue, but quickly closes it again. "You don't have to run from away me, I'm here for you."

* * *

_"Severa," Cordelia says to her young daughter as she's bent down, "Why are you hiding your arm behind your back?"_

_"It's nothing, mom," Severa says, feet shuffling as she stares down at the ground. It's obvious to Cordelia she's trying not to cry, that she's trying to hide something. But she knows she needs to be patient with Severa. Trying to force her into doing something will only make her more afraid and more distrusting. So she settles to raising a hand to hold the hand of Severa's that isn't currently hidden behind her back._

_"You know you can tell me anything you need to, right?" she asks, eliciting a small nod from Severa. "Then why don't you tell me what's wrong?"_

_"Because you'll get mad at me," Severa says, tears pricking at the edges of her eyes again._

_"I won't be mad, Severa." Cordelia says, squeezing the small hand held in her own, and at that Severa looks at her. "You can tell me."_

_"Really?"_

_"I promise," she says with a gentle smile. She can tell Severa hesitates at her words, but eventually she pulls her arm out from behind her back and extends it, revealing a gash along her arm. Cordelia's eyes widen, hands immediately moving to her arm to feel around the area of the wound. It wasn't too deep of a cut, but it was still been bloody and dirty from when the incident first happened. "Severa, why didn't you want to tell me about this? When did this happen?"_

_"It happened while I was climbing trees even though you told me not to. I knew you would want to clean it and cleaning it hurts and I don't want to."_

_"Cleaning it prevents infection, which can hurt even more," she says gently, "and it does hurt, but it makes it hurt a lot less later on." the girl remains silent, only sniffling quietly, before Cordelia stands up reaching her hand out. "How about we go home and get that cut healed and then you can have some treats?"_

_Severa perked up at that, standing up and nodding as she took her mother's hand and they began to walk home, her hand holding on tightly to Cordelia's._

_"Mom," she started, hesitating once again before deciding to continue, "You meant it when you said you wouldn't be angry, right?"_

_Cordelia stops walking and smiles before bending down once again to speak, hand outstretched to brush by her cheek, "Of course I did. And if something like this happens again, you don't have to run away from me, okay? I'm here to help you._

* * *

          The memory and emotions comes surging back all at once and Severa can't take it, tears roll down her face freely now as she stares at her mother, wide-eyed and mouth agape. Cordelia is about to ask her what's wrong when she quickly her daughter throwing herself into her arms, face hidden somewhere against her chest as she cried. She's shocked at first, but the emotion quickly becomes replaced with one of intense worry as she feels the way her daughter shakes and trembles and hears the strained way she's trying to hold back her cries.

          She's not entirely sure what she's supposed to do, but she feels desperate to do something, anything to soothe the girl against her. Her arms wrap around her quickly, bringing Severa closer against her as she instinctively begins to hum an unknown tune to her. She almost thinks she hears the word "mom" whispered in a weak voice a few times as she does, but she couldn't tell for sure.

          After some time has passed, Cordelia having calmed Severa to the point where the shaking and crying has stopped, she sighs and closes her eyes, "Severa, would you like to head back to camp now? It's getting late." After hearing no response she asks again, "Severa?"

          Adjusting herself carefully to look down, she finds that Severa had fallen asleep against her. Cordelia can't help but smile, seeing her calm and at peace after how pained and troubled she had looked before. It's no wonder that she fell asleep either, not after she had managed to run so far so quickly. She wants to ask about it, wants to know what had happened to push her to run away, what she must have remembered to get upset, but she resolves to do that another day. She slowly stands up, lifting the sleeping girl with her carefully, and begins to walk back to camp. 

          "Mmm... Mom?" Severa stirs, looking up at her with tired eyes.

          "We'll be back at the camp soon," Cordelia replies softly as she continues walking.

          "No, it's not that, I just... I'm sorry. For running away, and all..." she trails off, likely as a result of the exhaustion she was feeling. "And... I'm glad you followed me. Thank you." she finishes, eyes closing once again.

          Cordelia stands still at that for a moment, staring down at Severa, thinking to herself briefly before continuing to walk back.

          She wasn't sure how or why she knew it, but she couldn't help but feel everything would be alright from then on.


End file.
